Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: darthphineas on August 29, 2013, 05:15:17 AM
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hey guys, first post. been lurking a week or so.
have read about the BKP name for a while over on the Duncan forum, but finally decided to give it a go. I've had a few emails with Tim and he's given his thoughts. I also like to get as much info from as many sources as I can, so I thought I'd ask you guys as well.
a little background would be that I've been playing since '85. as such, I lean toward that high-gain 80s rock and hard-rock. my main 'real' rig is an ADA MP-1 with a BBE and a digital reverb into a power amp and to two 4x12s. my newer 'e-rig' is the Line 6 UX-1 using the Pod Farm 2.5 Platinum (with all the bells and whistles), mainly so I can tinker with a wee bit of recording just to amuse myself. I've been using the Duncan JB as the benchmark bridge pickup for all this time, just getting into Duncan Custom Shop models last years. examples of the typical stuff I might jam to would include Night Ranger, Whitesnake, Ratt, Dokken, Scorpions, Def Leppard and so on.
there are a few guitars to consider, so it's not like I can keep it simple. lol! but the primary candidate would be either an alder solid body with rosewood bolt-on (80s Kramer or 80s ESP), or maybe a mahogany Hamer Centaura with rosewood bolt-on. all my guitars are loaded with Floyds.
I'd like to stay in the same league as the Duncan JB with that midrange punch general vibe, but maybe with a little more concise/articulate/tighter low end... and a high end that still screams and pierces for the tapped/pinched harmonics, but with a touch of sweetness. something that will sit well in the mix and still cut through with loads of sustain.
the models that have come up from other sources include the Holy Diver and the Rebel Yell.
what say you?
thanks!!
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I don't think the Holydiver would have quite the screaming highs you want, though otherwise it would work well. Heard lots of good things about the Rebel Yell, sounds like a good bet for you.
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I'm betting that Tim told you the Rebel Yell.
I read somewhere though that it is quite similar to the JB - do you want something similar, or are you looking for something quite different? I guess the Cold Sweat is another one to think about if you like ceramics.
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My 1st thought for the Alder bodied Superstrat type would be the Holydiver, but it MAY not have the screaming highs you refer to.
My main thought would be to go with whatever Tim suggested to be honest. I know that sounds like a bit of a cop out, but the man really does know his stuff and he knows his products and market extremely well.
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Tim suggested the Holy Diver. and I have no reason to think that it wouldn't work. except now you guys are thinking it might not have those screaming highs on the pinched/tapped harmonics - thinking of Gillis and Vai style of squeals, for example.
but after posting the question yesterday, I looked around to see a little more about what guitars SS uses. his signature Hamer appears to have been mahogany. he was also behind the Hamer Centaura for all of about five minutes (mine is mahogany, but many were alder). while it appears that with Washburn he ended up picking poplar in a blind test and then going with JBs at that time (wow, about 20 years ago), but there were also some maple-capped Washburn SS models too. then he was a big fan of the basswood w/maple top EBMM EVH and I'm guessing the LPs he uses are mahogany w/maple top. I do really dig SS's playing, but I'm not a big SS-head...any more than just trying to get my head around liking his tone and trying to better understand how his guitars and the RY work together. it turns out a lot of the woods he has used are also running the herd in my stable, so that leads me to think there could also similar tastes in pickup preferences.
it seems the if I went with the RY and it was too shrill or too clear in alder, that I have that mahogany Hamer... and then go with the HD for one of the other guitars. see...who says it doesn't pay to have too many guitars? lol!
as for the JB, I'd like something similar, but different. like an improved version. maybe a little tighter lows and slightly more open vibe to it. it really need to have the gas to deal with some of those long sustained 22nd fret notes that always cap off the solos to all those 80s tunes. lol!
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but after posting the question yesterday, I looked around to see a little more about what guitars SS uses.
Did you see the rig rundown? I think it might be very useful for you
https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=30468.0
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Seriously consider either the `Cold Sweat or Rebel Yell
In Duncan speak the cold sweat is like a little more open Duncan Custom and the RY is in the Custom 5 ballpark
Both work well in Mahogany guitars but will work nicely in alder too.
The Cold Sweat was designed with John Sykes in mind (both Lizzy and Whitesnake eras)
Your list of bands looks like the playlist on my ipod (wearing a Dokken t shirt as I type this) and my own rig has had an MP1 and BBE in since about '88, although I am using Randall /Egnater more than the ADA these days.
My own selection of pickups for this stuff would be Cold Sweat/Rebel Yell/Holy Diver/Miracle Man
The CS and MM are ceramic magnet loaded - so v tight for rhythm playing (Lynch/Sykes/Rudy Schenker/Michael Schenker) but the CS is more open early 80s and the MM is more saturated low mids late 80s sound
In truth you probably wont go far wrong with any of them but it's just finding the best mix
If you are within striking distance of London you could pop in and try them out as I have pretty much all of them in something here
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Holy Diver all the way. Follow Tim!
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any comparisons to the Duncan Custom or the Custom 5 is a sure way to get me to loose interest. lol! don't care for those, especially the C5 with the scooped mids. the BKP tone chart sorta indicate the opposite for those comparisons.
since I'm clearly in the colonies, I've checked with a few dealers on availability and I'd like to see more places either have single humbuckers (vs calibrated sets only) in stock and more places with the 53mm f-spacing. however, a guy I talked to today that has used both the RY and the HD indicated they are very similar.
although there's something that keeps calling me toward the RY, there is a shop that has the 53mm HD that I'm considering. if anyone sees any 53mm RY floating around, please keep me in mind.
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I'm in the colonies too, but I ordered directly. If you are outside the EU you miss out on the 20% VAT. Even with the shipping to Australia it worked out cheaper than if I had to use the same Australian dollars to buy them in the UK.
That said the Aussie dollar has been dropping since February or so and I got a better deal currency-wise on my first set than on my second.
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I'd be in the American colonies.
there's at least one retailer that'd be more cost effective that going direct, even with the VAT. but they only have one of the models I'm interested in, so I'll have to see how the selection process ends up.
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There is a general perception that there are similarities between the RY and HD but that the RY is more suited to darker guitars while the HD works better in bright guitars. Far be it for me to contradict Jonathon at Feline but, if the C5 is known for it's scooped mids, then it's nothing like the RY which is really punchy and full in the mid range.
My number one guitar for many years was a Gibson SG (all mahogany, rosewood board) with a JB at the bridge. I was totally content with this guitar. Number one now is a very similar guitar (Gibson Firebird Studio, all mahogany, rosewood board) with RYs. My SG rarely sees daylight any more. The last time I gigged with it I found the JB to be a very unsatisfactory experience compared to the RY. I think the RY would kill in your Hamer.
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Why not a VHII??
I have one in my alder strat and it KILLS!! Very versatile pu, goes from a nice fat clean to ACDC tones and up to early van halen only in the guitar knob... If you use a high gain amp, it does metal in spades too. Huge low end, nice focused mids and spanky highs (but not harsh).
On the other hand, I can't see why the HD wouldn't work, actually, it would work well and wouldn't be dark sounding in a alder/maple guitar.
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sounds like the best bet would be to try the RY and if it's too spanky in the alder, then it can always live in the mahogany...which I think would be the best place for it anyway. seems like I'm looking at trying them both! lol!
edit: to remove my ignorance about the VHII that I addressed below. lol!
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Why not a VHII??
I have one in my alder strat and it KILLS!! Very versatile pu, goes from a nice fat clean to ACDC tones and up to early van halen only in the guitar knob... If you use a high gain amp, it does metal in spades too. Huge low end, nice focused mids and spanky highs (but not harsh).
On the other hand, I can't see why the HD wouldn't work, actually, it would work well and wouldn't be dark sounding in a alder/maple guitar.
you know, I'm a total dodo bird on this one. I had a prejudice against the VHII partly because I apparently can't read properly and thought it has an A2 mag. lol! my rig and my style can be a little finicky with some A2-based models...but no, the VHII has an A5.
sweet stapp, now I've got 3 models on the line to have to decide between. sounds like I can't go wrong with any of them.
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The VHII is a great rockpickup, noncompressed, touchsensitive, with a good balance with pronounced, but not shrill topend. I would call it a vintagehot HD. For your guitar and styles I'd pick the HD though.
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This is actually quite a straightforward question in my mind and I'm with Tim 100%. You're describing a Holydiver. It's everything the JB is and a hell of a lot more besides. It loves an overdrive pedal if you think it needs more balls and can scream away as much as you want. I can see how other pickups can do what you're after but I can't see them doing it as well as the Holydiver. Tim knows his stuff.
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Tim suggested the Holy Diver. and I have no reason to think that it wouldn't work. except now you guys are thinking it might not have those screaming highs on the pinched/tapped harmonics - thinking of Gillis and Vai style of squeals, for example.
This is actually quite a straightforward question in my mind and I'm with Tim 100%. You're describing a Holydiver. It's everything the JB is and a hell of a lot more besides. It loves an overdrive pedal if you think it needs more balls and can scream away as much as you want. I can see how other pickups can do what you're after but I can't see them doing it as well as the Holydiver. Tim knows his stuff.
pretty much this
when using a proper booster, the diver had the easiest, loudest and most screaming harmonics I ever got from any pickup, maybe only comparable to the miracle man
not that it sounds weak without a pedal, but boosting really makes a huge difference with this pup
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I really don't use any pedal, if that would make a difference. For my real rig, it's straight into the ADA MP-1. The eq and the digital reverb are in the fx loop, it has a built in analog chorus and then goes out to the BBE and then to the power amp. The virtual rig of the Line6 Ux-1 and Pod Farm can do whatever I want, but that's just what I use when I tinker around with recording for fun.
Some have said the RY is a little more aggressive and will have a little more scream to the harmonic squeals. While the VHII is also very much on my radar, I'm thinking that if if the brand is as awesome as its said to be that I might very well end up with all three models before Im done.
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That may well be true as I've certainly tried my fair share of BKP despite never owning more than two guitars at a time! I also wouldn't want to suggest that Tim always gets it right because nobody's perfect but I think that if he does get it wrong, 99.9% of the time it's down to an inaccurate description of what you're after which sends him in the wrong direction. The point is that none of us know pickups better than Tim and none of us know Bare Knuckle pickups better than Tim and you have described a Holydiver 100%. All of that being the case, it strikes me as unwise to even consider trying a different pickup first. Let me use myself as an example and the pickups I've tried in the order I've tried them.
Cold Sweat set
I started this thinking that I wanted a Cold Sweat neck and a different bridge. I can't remember what was in my mind (possibly a Painkiller) but it certainly wasn't a Cold Sweat. I described what I wanted and Tim suggested a Cold Sweat set. I wasn't at all convinced so dithered for a couple of weeks before buying the Cold Sweat set and it was fantastic - just what I wanted.
A-Bomb bridge
I sent this one back but it was my fault. I said I wanted something tight and with an edge of aggression but with an element of versatility but as soon as I tried the A-Bomb I realised it was all of those things but that wasn't what I'd meant. By 'tight' I'd meant something with good note separation and very articulate but that's not the same thing at all. I went back to the drawing board, refined my description to something that more accurately portrayed what I wanted and he changed to a Holydiver. Again I was wary because I really thought the Holydiver would be too tame but realising that the problem with the Nailbomb was my fault and sure I'd described my tone better this time, I took the plunge and guess what.....it was perfect.
Trilogy Suites (neck and middle)
I wanted creamy single coil tones with a modern edge that could still do Blues. I actually really wanted him to say Slowhands but he said Trilogy Suites. By this time I'd learned my lesson so I went with the Trilogy Suites and he was right, they were superb.
Holydiver bridge
Mentioned above and I'm a HUGE fan of this pickup now.
Emerald neck
I contacted him about this one 100% sure that I wanted an Abraxas neck. I even phrased my description in such a way that I felt it would encourage him to say Abraxas so I was stunned when he said an Emerald. Experience had, by this time, shown me that Tim generally isn't wrong so I bought the Emerald and it is easily my favourite neck pickup. What's more, subsequent events I'll come onto suggest that I wouldn't have liked the Abraxas neck at all.
Miracle Man
This time I kinda thought I wanted an A-Pig but he came back to me that the Miracle Man would be a better choice. I was VERY unsure as after the Holydiver I was convinced that whatever I got would need to be alnico V and not ceramic. How could a ceramic give me the smooth, thick and organic tones I'd described? Reluctantly I decided to give it a go, convinced it would be going back for an A-Pig. When it arrived I was astonished to find that it was absolutely perfect. To be honest it was so completely spot on for what I wanted it was unbelievable.
Crawler bridge
Again, I went into this 150% convinced I wanted an Abraxas and again, I felt my description was perfect for an Abraxas but Tim went and suggested a Crawler! Not being a great Geoff Whitehorn fan but being a big Santanna fan, I was far from sure about this but there was no way I was doubting Tim ever again so I bought it and it is absolutely what I wanted. In fact, it's closer to what I wanted than I ever thought possible and the more I play it, the more I love it. There's a serious possibility that this could at least match the Holydiver as my favourite bridge pickup. I played a gig last night and I used this pickup in what is supposedly my 'second' guitar for more than half of the set. It's THAT good.
Crawler neck
Again, this one went back and again, it was largely my fault. I described a vintage tone and this is a very vintage pickup but it soon became apparent that while I may like a bit of a vintage vibe, I also like the extra cut you get from a more modern pickup.
Holydiver neck
One of the pickups in the range that I really thought I'd never own because it just never appealed to me from the description but I knew I wanted something different from the Emerald and this is what came up. It's in the guitar and even though overall I still prefer the Emerald, this is just what I was after for that particular guitar and once again, by taking his advice I am perfectly happy.
I don't think my experience is unique on this board. I think at some point, most of us have had doubts about what Tim suggests but equally, most of us have come to the conclusion that he's invariably right and if there's a difference of opinion, we're invariably wrong. If your description is accurate, you have described a Holydiver, Tim has suggested the Holydiver (not surprisingly given your description) so buy a Holydiver. If it's wrong, it will be down to your description.
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I was recommended the A-Bomb for my SG by BKP ... BUT ... the fault was largely mine because I said I wanted it to do all of these different things, to cover everything from punk to grindcore. The A-bomb falls in the middle there but really no pickup could cover all that ground and that was also said to me. Had I specified a more limited sonic territory I'm sure that it would have worked out better.
Unrealistic/inaccurate expectations going in, disappointments coming out. Generally if you have specified clearly what you want you will get an excellent suggestion from them. The suggestion of an A-Pig for my Explorer was perfect for what I wanted, i.e., down-tuned and nasty old school death metal and grindcore. No attempt to find something that would also work for Thin Lizzy or the Ramones the second time around! It is however great for the S.O.B. (grindcore) version of Blitzkrieg Bop! :D I'd get a Fender if I really wanted to get the Ramones sound
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got with Tim again yesterday and I think we are clear on the HD. my test bed for most pickups is a 90s ESP M-II with an alder body, maple neck and rosewood board. the only other option it might go in would be a late 80s Kramer Pacer Custom that might be alder or it might be poplar, again with maple neck and rosewood board. there's a dealer that has a 53mm model in stock and I was going to order it here this afternoon.
the RY and the VHII are both ones that I'll either have to order or will keep waiting until one pops up. after chatting with Tim again, I have some guitars that are good options for them both. the mahogany Hamer Centaure for the RY and the mahogany/maple Jackson PC-1 for the VHII.
depending on when the HD gets shipped from the dealer, I might should have a NPD in about a week. thank you guys for your input, I'm really looking forward to BKPs being a good as it sounds like they will be.
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Holy Diver arrived today. installed, and have about 1/2-hour into it so far.
lemme preface with this. I have many guitars and most have 2 or 3 pickups in each. then I have probably over two dozen spare pickups. out of the active ones, I think there are 4 SD Custom Shop models, and multiples of some of those models. and then there are the ones I have tired and passed along. so....
wow! the HD is exactly as how it has been described and exactly what I was hoping it would sound like.
it came down to putting in an alder with rosewood board or a poplar with rosewood board. both are bolt-on superstrats with Floyds. since I get a smidge more highs out of poplar, I wanted to go with the alder first to see if it would indeed have the highs I was hoping for... and yes it does.
anyone that has the HD knows what it does, so I don't see a big need to be redundant about the tone here. but I did want to follow up with the update and thank you cats that helped reinforce the suggestion that Tim made. even though the HD was in transit, I already started looking around for a f-spaced RY for that Tim suggested mahogany Hamer Centaura... now I think I know it'll be a good pickup for sure to try next (btw, please contact me if anyone has a f-spaced RY they want to place in a new home!).
I'll be making some time tomorrow to put the HD into the Pod Farm to really put it through some fun tone testing.
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Glad you like the Diver!
Did you tweak the height a bit? With scatterwound pickups it can make quite some difference. Beware when you get an RY, which is especially sensitive for height.
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Glad you like the Diver!
Did you tweak the height a bit? With scatterwound pickups it can make quite some difference. Beware when you get an RY, which is especially sensitive for height.
right now, it's at the basic height I use when I first install a pickup. have to say that I'd be hard pressed to imagine it sounding better. having this be the first scatterwound pup that I know of having, what are some of the things to listen for when tweaking the height? are there variables that come into play that aren't of consideration for some of the other non-scattered 'production' models out there?
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Glad you like the Diver!
Did you tweak the height a bit? With scatterwound pickups it can make quite some difference. Beware when you get an RY, which is especially sensitive for height.
right now, it's at the basic height I use when I first install a pickup. have to say that I'd be hard pressed to imagine it sounding better. having this be the first scatterwound pup that I know of having, what are some of the things to listen for when tweaking the height? are there variables that come into play that aren't of consideration for some of the other non-scattered 'production' models out there?
Glad you like it! If you would happen to feel inspired to do a full review some time...
Anyhow on the height thing. What I usually say when someone gets a fresh RY and loves it: Yeah you love it now, but chances are good that with some tweaking it can get even better.
Just take exact note of where it is at the moment so you can revert any changes if you happen to not like em.
I could now go about describing in detail what the height changes bring, but I will just keep it general:
Closer: hotter, fatter, more compressed, thicker, etc
away: clearer, woodier, brighter, more defined, etc
Best thing you can do (again after exactly writing down where you are) is go very low and then go up in 1/2 or 1 screw turns at a time, spend at least 5 min on each. Do that until you get wolve tones (unwanted overtones) or other nasty stuff.
This exercise really shows you the differences better than any description.
When that is done I personally recommend tweaking the pole piece height too as that is something I swear by (not everyone does, but I love it). What it does is bring more clarity and definition to the sound, a certain brightness too. Really cool to give the low strings that little extra.
What you do is raise the pole pieces up to 1mm (or less), mostly on the bass side usually. In turn you ususally lower the Pu a little on that side, as much as you raised the pieces or less. Again try it and listen.
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whenever I see someone mention adjusting the pole pieces, it reminds me of the first pickup I bought to upgrade a guitar. it was a Kramer Focus 2000 I bought in 1985. I dumped that OEM bridge pickup for a JB. having noticed that some single coils have staggered poles, I noticed the one coil of the JB had screws so I went to adjusting them. granted, it was an experiment out of a bit of guessing and a bit of blind ignorance. at one point, the music shop got a new banana neck in stock from Kramer, so I got that and they installed it...at which point the guy at the shop saw I had adjusted the pole pieces and made a big fuss out how that was not a good thing. so now, almost 30 years later, it reminds me of what that guy actually knew, or rather, didn't know
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call me deranged, but the same dealer got a VHII w/ 53mm spacing in yesterday and I couldn't help myself. lol! I was hoping to go with the RY next, but a 53mm would need to be ordered...so seeing a wide spacing that I wanted in stock was more than my will could bear. ain't that a peach?
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About the height Kiichi gave you already excellent advice.
The VHII is a gem too in the right guitar. This BKP feels way hotter then the dc-resistance might tell you.
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About the height Kiichi gave you already excellent advice.
The VHII is a gem too in the right guitar. This BKP feels way hotter then the dc-resistance might tell you.
what has been your experience with the 'right guitar' for the VHII? I'm pondering a few options while it's en route, and am always interested in suggestions.
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About the height Kiichi gave you already excellent advice.
The VHII is a gem too in the right guitar. This BKP feels way hotter then the dc-resistance might tell you.
what has been your experience with the 'right guitar' for the VHII? I'm pondering a few options while it's en route, and am always interested in suggestions.
In general in guitars that don't have a (very) bright natural voice. The VHII is a bit of a chameleon, that can be a succes in both strats and mahogany or basswood based guitars. By example: works fine in my ash/rosewood-board Fender strat, but that has a middy character. The VHII has enough bass and midrange for most bolt-on alder/ash guitars.
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the VHII arrived today.
I really wanted to put it to a relative testing ground. earlier this year, I tried another VH-themed pickup with an A2 (if that helps tell you which one it was *wink wink*) in my basswood Charvel Predator. so I thought I'd put the VHII in the same guitar. where as that other one really sounded a little dampened, flat and dull in the basswood, the VHII is nice and lively.
so far I've only tinkered with it about a half-hour just to get a basic idea, but it comes across as a nice rock-n-roll pickup. it didn't really slap me in the face as an 'Eddie' pickup, but I could tell that if I dialed up the amp and the effects that it'd all be there (that'll come in the next day or so. lol!). once again, the harmonic squeal pop right out really well and there's plenty of sustain. it seems to have a really well-balanced tone in the basswood Charvel. playing the typicaly 80s riffs with the chugga-chugga on the lower strings did get loose or flub out, and were actually a little more precise than I was expecting.
something that impresses me with both BKPs I have is how the respond to changes in the volume pot. it's really night and day from what I'm used to. I put the VHII on a clean setting and rolled back to about 8-ish on the pot and it came on in with no breakup at all....I could still switch back and forth between dirty and clean at that position and everything sounded great, with a little more left in reserve for some lead work. really handy for all those changes that are in so many of those 80s tunes.
very cool. liking it a lot.
still really looking forward to getting to the RY. there's a guitar show in a month, and not wanting to break into my guitar show budget (lol!), I hope to be getting around to the RY around the beginning of Nov... which is handy, as that'll allow for plenty of time to really stretch my legs on the HD and the VHII.
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playing the typically 80s riffs with the chugga-chugga on the lower strings did get loose or flub out, and were actually a little more precise than I was expecting.
Good to hear you like your purchase. I'm a little confused here though. Do you mean that it did not 'get loose or flub out' (because you then describe it as more precise than you expected)?
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He actually means the VHII is pretty tight for a vintagehotpickup.
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playing the typically 80s riffs with the chugga-chugga on the lower strings did get loose or flub out, and were actually a little more precise than I was expecting.
Good to hear you like your purchase. I'm a little confused here though. Do you mean that it did not 'get loose or flub out' (because you then describe it as more precise than you expected)?
you are correct... It should read "did NOT" get loose or flub out.
you'd almost expect there to be a degree of 'sag' or 'girth' in the low end of a pickup like this. and while it has a full tone, it's articulate and concise without being thin or brittle. it fills out very well in the basswood, especially considering another A2-based VH-type pickup sounded muted and dull. after having a few days with each, I'm getting tempted to swap the BKPs and put the VHII in the alder and the HD in the basswood to get a better idea. I'm really liking the VHII in the basswood, so it's a tough call. lol! there are parts to the mids of the HD that are so clear and chimey that I'm probably a little more curious how the HD would manage the basswood or the mahogany. decisions, decisions. lol!
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Glad you like the Diver!
Did you tweak the height a bit? With scatterwound pickups it can make quite some difference. Beware when you get an RY, which is especially sensitive for height.
did a bit of back and forth today with the HD and the VHII. I think I'm considering some height tweaks on the HD. while I'm OK with the lows and highs, the mids are just the slightest bit crisp. not a bad thing, but I might try to take the edge of just a smidge. or maybe it's just that clearer quality I've not been used to hearing. :lol:
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Did you try the Holy Diver in the basswood guitar?
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Glad you like the Diver!
Did you tweak the height a bit? With scatterwound pickups it can make quite some difference. Beware when you get an RY, which is especially sensitive for height.
did a bit of back and forth today with the HD and the VHII. I think I'm considering some height tweaks on the HD. while I'm OK with the lows and highs, the mids are just the slightest bit crisp. not a bad thing, but I might try to take the edge of just a smidge. or maybe it's just that clearer quality I've not been used to hearing. :lol:
Maybe the last thing, but the HD doesn't lack in crispiness. The height can make quite a difference. I had to tweak my Crawler quite a bit to get it right.
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Did you try the Holy Diver in the basswood guitar?
not yet.
Maybe the last thing, but the HD doesn't lack in crispiness. The height can make quite a difference. I had to tweak my Crawler quite a bit to get it right.
kept on playing it through different amp settings last night and will give it a tweak later today. since so many people suggested the HD is great in alder, it might just be my ears adapting.
edit: did some swapping around. put the HD in some mahogany and the VHII in the same alder the HD was in. they have a lot of the same characteristics in alder with the VHII being just a little sharper in the highs. the HD will not be staying in the mahogany. lol! while it's tempting to do the full round-robin and try the HD in the basswood, from hearing the VHII in that basswood and the VHII and the HD in the same alder, I'm certain the original pairings were best for what I'm trying to get from these guitars. I can also see now where Tim said the VHII would also work in mahogany...pretty versatile pickup. it's tempting to try the HD in the basswood, but I can tell the VHII is better suited in that one for what I want. it's also clarified that if the RY is a little brighter than the HD that it'd be the one for that mahogany. starting to GAS again! lol!
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I've got too much BKP gas going on. lol!
instead of waiting until after next months guitar show, I think I'd like to go ahead and jump on the Rebel Yell.
when I put the HD in the mahogany Hamer, I could definitely tell the piercing sustain for the pinched/tapped harmonics were not quite there in the same way they were for the HD in the alder. and I can still see how that little extra bit of sharpness in the VHII would work in the mahogany. I don't find it to be a overly dark mahogany, but I can tell where tamed the sustain on the highs of the HD just enough to know I was doing to need something specific for that guitar.
maybe it's being in TX, but the name 'Rebel Yell' just seem like providence. lol! I've been looking at this model from day one, and only put it off because other models of interest became available sooner. it's finally time to jump on this bad boy. keeping the fingers crossed. :P
edit: if someone in the states has a 53m RY bridge they want to move, please let me know before I get the order rolling. thanks!
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I'm worried that if I get a Rebel Yell set I'll have to start wearing leather trousers and grow some hair. Or maybe buy one of those tragic wigs that old glam rockers wear.
Problem is I'd look rubbish in leather trousers. I look bad enough in jeans. Is there a BKP that would go well with a kilt? Maybe that would suit me ;)
Seriously though a Rebel Yell and a Les Paul sound like a match made in heaven. Any guitar with similar tonal characteristics to an LP should suit the RY
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Problem is I'd look rubbish in leather trousers. I look bad enough in jeans. Is there a BKP that would go well with a kilt? Maybe that would suit me ;)
Must be the Cold Sweat! :lol:
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I've just installed one of those ;)
The A-Bomb was very kilt friendly too. Very '80s punk, the sort of sound Wattie would approve of
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now you've done it... I'm going to download the entire Slade catalog!
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Even in Japan they wear kilts:
(http://tokyofashion.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Harajuku-Punkers-Mohawk-Spikes-2013-03-17-DSC2617.jpg)
But with trousers underneath? WTF?
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lol! Maybe Tim needs to offer pickups with a plaid option for the bobbins. lol!
just wanted to follow up to say how impressed I am by how fast the order for the RY was handled. I ordered it late Sun, it was processed Mon, and it was shipped today. that's really awesome. granted, it has to make it across the pond and deep into the heart of Texas (clap! clap! clap! clap!), but that's still a much faster turnaround then when placing a custom order from some places.
really looking forward to this bad boy.
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c'on man!!!!
we need clips...
:shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:
(especialy in that alder superstrat)
:D